How to Protect Yourself From Head Injuries

The tragic death of freestyle skier Sarah Burke from a traumatic brain injury after a crash on the same half-pipe in Park City, Utah where professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce also sustained a serious head injury in 2009 has sparked a major debate about safety. Burke, 29, a six-time X Games champion, helped to blaze the path for women in extreme sports and won an ESPY for female action sports athlete of the year. She was also a driving force in getting freestyle skiing included in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Burke died nine days after the accident when a severed artery in her neck caused “irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest," according to a statement released by her publicist. She fell flat on the ground after landing a routine trick on her feet before bouncing on her head. She was wearing a helmet.

“Just as we see in football players, helmets offer a level of protection but they don’t make the person invincible,” says Gregory J. O'Shanick, MD, medical director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation Services, PC in Richmond, VA and chairman of the Brain Injury Association of America, Inc. That's because in order to function the brain needs oxygen and glucose from a blood supply. Injuring your cervical spine can damage arteries and blood vessels that deliver these critical nutrients to your brain.

“A helmet may not prevent injury if you’re hit with a strong enough force, such as that from a vehicle or an extreme fall, or experience a strong full frontal blow,” says Dr. O’Shanick. “However, just because Sarah died of a brain injury even though she was wearing a helmet does not mean that helmets don’t do their job. If your feet aren’t in contact with the ground—whether you are skiing, biking, rollerblading, horseback riding—the safe thing to do to protect your brain is to put another shell over it.”

Much like the way a fender works to prevent body damage on a car, helmets protect your brain by cracking upon impact to dissipate the force so it doesn’t get transferred to your brain. For example, Dr. O’Shanick says that helmets avert between 80 and 88% of traumatic brain injuries for bike riders who wear them.

“A bike helmet saved my life,” says pro cyclist Saul Raisin, who was left in a coma after a near-fatal crash during a bike race. Though Raisin’s doctors didn’t expect him to survive or—if he did—to be paralyzed for life, today he is back on the bike and competing in marathons, triathlons, and road races. “I started the Raisin Hope Foundation to raise awareness for survivors of traumatic brain injury, and to provide them with support by connecting them with other people who have gone through it themselves.”

An estimated 1.7 million people in the US get a traumatic brain injury each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The leading causes of brain injury are:

1. Falls

2. Unknown/other

3. Motor vehicle accidents

4. Hitting or being hit by something other than a machine or vehicle, such as when two sports players collide or when something falls off a shelf and strikes you in the head

5. Assaults

So what’s the best way to protect your head? “It’s mostly common sense stuff,” says Brent Masel, MD, president and medical director of The Transitional Learning Center at Galveston. “Move things out of the way that might cause you to trip and fall; stay off of unsteady surfaces such as ladders placed on uneven ground; buckle up in the car; and wear a helmet if you’re skiing or biking.”

Though brain injuries such as concussions are not uncommon, most people recover. “About 85% of head injuries get resolved on their own, but we don’t know why some people heal and others have symptoms for the rest of the their lives,” says Dr. Masel.

Surprisingly, it’s not so much the pain that indicates a more serious problem, because hitting your head is probably going to hurt regardless. “Your brain itself doesn’t actually feel pain because it doesn’t have that type of nerve receptors,” Masel says. While pain may not be the best indicator of a serious head injury, you shouldn't just blow it off if you don't feel quite like yourself after banging your head. See a doctor if you experience symptoms like cloudiness, difficulty speaking, or weakness on one side of your body.

"The combination of preventative measures to minimize severity of impact, such as wearing helmets, and getting early medical intervention, such as the type of cognitive therapy undergone by congresswoman Gabby Giffords, can be very effective for helping lessen trauma and restore function," says Dr. O'Shanick.

Though even some of the most advanced medical treatment could not save Sarah Burke, her adventurous spirit has inspired an outpouring of donations to help her family—and new husband and fellow extreme skier Rory Bushfield—cover the cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars of medical bills. Burke’s page on the site GiveForward.com helps her memory live on, stating, “Her accomplishments on skis continue to inspire girls everywhere to believe in themselves and follow their hearts. Her passing is not a cause to pack up our skis, but rather a reason to step-in and ski for Sarah and the dreams that inspired her star to shine.”

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